Rail-bond punch.



No. 856,621. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907. w. R. cannon.

RAIL BOND PUNCH. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 14, 1907.

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PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907.

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wirmzsszs UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

WILLIAM R. CONDON, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN STEEL & WIRE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPO- RAIL-BOND PUNCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907.

Application filed January 1 1, 1907. Serial No.352,135.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. CoNDoN, of WVorcester, WVorcester county, Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Rail- Bond Punch, of which the following is a full, clear, and eXact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation showing the punch embodying my invention, and also illustrating the application of the same in use; Fig. 2 is a section on the line II II of Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is a detail view hereinafter referred to.

The object of the invention is to provide simple and e'flicient means for making holes in the flanges of rails in place in the road-bed for the attachment of rail bonds and the invention consists in the novel arrangement, construction and combination of parts all substantially as hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, in which I have shown one embodiment of my invention, the numeral 2 designates a U-shaped frame, in the upper portion of which is supported a pressure cyl inder 3 having therein a piston 41 whose rod 5 carries a die 6. 7 is a punch seated on the lower arm of the frame and which is arranged to cooperate with the die 6.

For the purpose of securing the device to the rail, two pivoted arms 8 are provided having their hooked free end portions pro vided with clamping screws 9 which can be screwed against the head of the rail, as shown in Fig. 1. One or more of these clamps may be provided, two being preferred, one at each side. I also provide the clamping screws 9, which are arranged to engage the edge of the base of the rail.

In order to prevent side motion of the punch in entering the flange, and to relieve the parts from the strains which would otherwise occur, the die 6 is connected to the rod or plunger 5 by means of the links 10 and knuckle or ball joint 11. This permits the die. to accommodate itself to the tapered shape of the rail flange, the hole 12 in the die being made large enough to insure proper working of the punch, even though the centers of the die and punch do not coincide.

For the purpose of stri ping the punch from the rail after the pundhing operation is completed, a fork-shaped stripping lever 13 is provided having the stripper projections 13 which are arranged to engage the under side of the base of the rail. By ressing downwardly on the handle 14 of this lever, the frame is drawn downwardly, thereby withdrmving the punch from the rail. A spring 1 1 is preferably connected to the stripping lever for returning it to its normal position after operation. The piston 4 is operated by means of any suitable quick-acting hydraulic pump attached to the threaded upper end portion of the cylinder 3. Before the stripping lever is actuated to Withdraw the punch from the rail-base, the pump valves are operated to give a free return passage for the actuating fluid above the piston 1. This is then moved up by means of a small pinion or gear wheel 15, which engages rack teeth 16 on the rod or plunger 5. This gear wheel or pinion may be actuated by hand-power applied to the end of its shaft.

The advantages of the invention result from the arrangement of the cylinder, which can be placed above the rail to be punched, and from the provision of the ball or knuckle joint connection between the die and the piston rod or plunger, whereby the parts are relieved from strains due to the tapering shape of the rail flange. construction and arrangement of the parts, whereby substantially all the mechanism is above the rail, but little room being required below the rail base for its operation.

The device can also be easily and quickly applied, and all its parts are readily accessible.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, since hat I claim is 1. A punching device having a movable plun er, a depending die head normally loosely connected thereto and free to adjust itself to the surface to be punched, and a relatively fixed punch arranged to co-operate with said die; substantially as described.

2. A punch having a power operated plunger, and a die head connected thereto by a normally loose joint, and free to move to adapt itself to the surface of the part to be punched; substantially as described.

3. A punch for punching tapered rail Also from the general v flanges, and having a die connected thereto by a knuckle joint to permit the die to adjust itself to the tapered surface of the rail flange substantially as described.

4. A rail punch having a power-operated plunger arranged to be placed above the base of the rail to be punched, a die jointed to said plunger and free to adjust itself, and a punch arranged to be brought below the rail base; substantially as described.

5. A rail punch having a power-operated plunger arranged to be placed above the base of the rail to be punched, a die jointed to the plunger and normally free to adjust itself, a fixed punch arranged to be brought below the rail base, and clamping means for attaching the punch to a rail; substantially as described.

6. In a rail punch, a frame having means for its attachment to a rail, a power cylinder carried by the frame, a piston therein having a depending rod or plunger, a punch die having a ointed connection with the rod or plunger and normally free to adjust itself, a cooperating punch, a stripping device, and means engaging the piston rod or plunger for effecting its return movement; substantially as described.

7. A rail punch having a power-operated punch die arranged to be placed above the base of the rail to be punched, a fixed punch arranged to be brought below the rail base, and a stripping lever having arms arranged to engage the under side of the rail base when the lever is depressed; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM R. CONDON.

Witnesses:

A. F. BAOKLIN, J. F. TINsLEY. 

